Falling Slowly
by Starving For Attention
Summary: Rose Weasley is in her seventh year of Hogwarts, which just so happens to be the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. What's better to celebrate such a historical event than a ball?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there! I know I haven't written in a while, I've just been really busy and really procrastinating. I'm thinking of going pro. Anyway, I'm trying out the new generation of Potter peeps. Lemme know what you think so far!**

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There was only one other ball to commence at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after the Yule Ball of 1994, which had come with the territory of the Triwizard Tournament, and was therefore, much to the dismay of the students, mandatory. This ball was announced quite suddenly by the Headmistress of the school, former Transfiguration teacher Professor Minerva McGonagall, some thirty years later at the start of dinner one evening.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please," she started, clearing her throat as an additional measure to quiet the students as she rose from her seat. She commanded the attention of a room, even the vast Great Hall populated with nearly the entire school, quite well, and the students ceased conversation as her gaze fell upon them, seemingly, one face at a time until they were all scrutinized. She continued, the need to raise her voice lost among the blanket of silence that seemed to fall over the area.

"There will be a formal ball taking place at Hogwarts on the second of May, to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the legendary battle that, as we all well know, brought Lord Voldemort to his demise by an alumnus of our school, Harry Potter." She glanced slowly around the Great Hall, noticing a few looks of admiration being exchanged at the Gryffindor table - some thrown towards Lily and Albus Potter - while others at the Slytherin table looked positively bored. Ignoring this, she continued. "The ball will require you to wear your dress robes," - a few people grumbled in response - "and will begin at seven o'clock in the evening. I expect your full and complete cooperation at this ball. And please, attempt to not look so glum," she added, a bit of a twinkle in her eye not unlike the one that used to frequently occupy itself behind the previous Headmaster's spectacles. "There will be some surprises in store for you all that I'm sure you will find. . ." She paused, searching for a word that would correctly express her thoughts. "Interesting." Most students exchanged significant looks - some worried, most excited - and McGonagall smiled. "Now, off to bed with you!"

There was a large commotion as nearly all the students got up and made their way back to their dormitories, animated chatter filling the air. Rose Weasley, a seventh year, and her younger cousin Lily lagged behind purposelessly.

"I wonder what the surprise is?" Rose asked, stealing a backwards glance at her headmistress, who was talking quietly with the man who taught Herbology, Professor Longbottom.

"Maybe a cool band is coming, like The Weird Sisters!" Lily exclaimed excitedly.

"Lil, you know The Weird Sisters have broken up," Rose replied, sending a look to her cousin. "Maybe they'll get Celine Dion, that wonderful Canadian singer that mom always plays. . . ."

Lily laughed. "Rose, Celine Dion's a _muggle _singer. If The Weird Sisters can't come, there's no way they'd bring _her _to Hogwarts! She can't even see the place!"

"Hey, I can dream, can't I?" Rose said with a smile.

"Sure, and _I_ can dream about The Weird Sisters getting back together."

Rose grinned and pushed her hair out of her face as they made their way out of the Great Hall. She was a relatively tall girl, inheriting her father's genes that distinguished his family from most others - wavy red hair that made its way past her shoulders. Rose had her mother's wit, a fact not lost on the family since barely after her birth, and was one of the top in her year, along with being Head Girl. Although her tongue was sharp, her eyes were the windows to her soul; all her emotions could be revealed by a look into her eyes, a trait that was no doubt passed down from her loving grandmother.

"What's the password?" asked Lily as their feet had finally steered them to the portrait of the Fat Lady, more familiarly known as the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

"_Coexist," _said Rose.

"Precisely." And the portrait swung open to reveal a swarm of red, gold, and black cluttering the common room, talking animatedly amongst each other.

"Did you hear what she said?"

"Surprises - but what does that _mean_?"

"Are we going to have to learn a dance?"

"_What if there are dragons coming!?"_

"Justin, don't be a prat, dragons are dangerous. Interesting, maybe to a bloke like Hagrid, but they definitely wouldn't bring them to a _ball."_

"_Rose!_" She suddenly felt someone grasp her arm and pull her into the midst of the crowd. "Did she tell you anything about this ball? What do you know?"

Rose laughed, glancing around at the excited expressions on the faces of those people immediately around her. "Why do you think I would know better than you?"

"Well, we figured-"

"-you're _Head Girl-"_

"Albus said you might know!"

And sure enough, the boy with jet black hair and brilliant green eyes, the boy that incredibly resembled his father, was lurking feet away from where his cousin Rose stood, looking sheepish, apparently taken aback by the fact that his name was dragged into the conversation. But this façade didn't faze her - she knew her cousin all too well. At her glance, he ran his hand through his hair and grinned imperiously at her: his goal of annoying her vicariously through his classmates had been achieved. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the inquisitive individuals around her.

"I know nothing more than you do, trust me."

A couple people looked slightly crestfallen at the news, but Rose just smiled apologetically at them before making her way up to the girls' dormitories, Lily following in her wake.

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	2. Chapter 2

The days leading up to the ball were full of excitement and a bit of tension, mostly on the boys' part. It seemed as though the majority of the Hogwarts population had unanimously decided to procrastinate on asking a date to the ball, and most were now anxiously scanning the hallways, classrooms, and tables of the Great Hall for a potential candidate. Rose had been asked two days before the ball by a seventh year Gryffindor, Jacob Pellerin, who, she was well aware of by now, always had a crush on her. Though the idea of taking him had not particularly appealed to her, she didn't want to risk it and wind up going alone, so she accepted, much to his delight.

"I mean, he's not _that bad _to look at," whispered Lily, sparing a glance at the boy in question. Her and Rose were huddled around the fire in the Gryffindor common room, talking in hushed voices with their heads bowed together, silhouetted in the eyes of others against the bright orange crackling flames beside them.

Rose shook her head. "He's so. . . _eager," _she whispered back disdainfully. "I mean, I guess it's better than going with someone who couldn't spare a second glance at me, but. . . ." She trailed off, opting to stare into the fire so she wouldn't catch Jacob's gaze, which happened to be coming their way quite frequently. "Who're you going with, Lily?" Rose asked with a bit of desperation.

"Eric Collins," she told her proudly. "He asked me at lunch today."

"Oh, he's nice," Rose said off-handedly.

"And he's _gorgeous_," Lily laughed. She leaned into her cousin and lowered her voice another notch. "I hear Rita Dimitria was really angry though - that blonde sixth year? I think she was hoping he'd ask her. . . ."

"Oh don't mind her," Rose assured her with a wave of the hand. "She's just jealous." After a pause, she added, "Just be careful of what you drink; I wouldn't put it past her to go spiking your pumpkin juice with some awful poison." Another pause. "And watch what she gives Erik, too: if she tries to hand him anything edible, don't let him take it."

"Rose, I know you haven't dated a lot of guys," - at this, she rewarded her disgruntled cousin an apologetic look - "but they usually run in the opposite direction if you're too controlling. And that seems really unnecessary. I highly doubt she's going to poison _him_."

Rose leaned in to speak into Lily's ear, shooting a glance at Rita, who was sitting cross-legged and cross-armed in an armchair across the room, her foot jiggling restlessly. "My dad told me about this one girl who had a crush on your dad - this was in their sixth year - and she gave Uncle Harry these cauldron cakes filled with love potion. My dad ate them one time accidentally, and he fell madly in love with her. For a couple hours, anyway. He was pretty much ready to throw himself off the closest balcony if he didn't get her hands on her. Uncle Harry told me that he had to take my dad to the Potions professor to fix him right."

Lily shoved her fist in her mouth to keep her from laughing too loudly. "Are you serious?" she managed to get out between giggles.

Rose nodded solemnly, but cracked a smile all the same. "_And_ he had a girlfriend at the time. She was not pleased." She paused. "I don't think mum would've been too happy either, come to think of it."

At that, a head full of jet black hair shoved its way between the two girls. "What are you talking about?" Albus asked nosily.

"Dresses for the ball," Rose answered promptly, sending Lily a sidelong glance.

Albus made a face. "Oh. Well, don't let me interrupt."

"We weren't planning to," Lily shot back.

Albus pushed his sister's head out of the way as he stood up to leave. "Wait!" Lily exclaimed. She stood up to get to his level, although the feat wasn't quite achieved - her eyes barely came level with the bottom of his chin. "Who are you taking to the ball?"

His mouth, which had opened in the prospect of throwing out a quick answer, snapped shut just as suddenly. "None of your business." And he turned around and headed up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

"Wha- _wait!_" Lily cried, and broke into a bit of a run to follow him up the stairs. When she caught up to him, she grinned at the look of contempt she was receiving from Albus, whose hand was frozen on the doorknob below the sign that read, "Seventh Years."

"Forgot I could come up here, did you?"

He didn't answer.

Both heads turned as they heard another set of footsteps advancing towards them - a flash of long red hair told them it was Rose.

"I'm curious," she said simply, answering the unasked question hanging between them.

Lily turned back toward her brother expectantly. "Well?"

"Well _what?_" He crossed his arms.

"_Who are you going with?"_

Albus grinned, leaning back against the threshold of the doorway. "I never said I was going to tell you if you followed me up here."

Lily sighed exasperatedly, mimicking his actions and folding her arms across her chest as well. She couldn't help but think that he's learned way too much from his older brother.

"You're going to find out tomorrow anyway." he pointed out. "I don't know why this is such a big deal to you."

"Because. . . _because. . ._" Lily stammered, grasping at justifications that she couldn't find. "Because, you know, what if she's really rude and horrible, and you don't know, but I do? I could warn you! I could. . . protect you!"

Albus raised his eyebrows, smirking. "Right." He looked at Rose, who was determinedly examining her colorless fingernails. "Who're you going with?"

Rose looked up and opened her mouth to speak, but Lily interrupted her. "Oh _no! _You can't just refuse to answer my question, and then ask the very same question to someone else! _You'll find out tomorrow anyway! _Right, Rose?"

"Jacob Pellerin," she said monotonously, returning to her inspection of her nails. Lily stared at her cousin, flabbergasted, her mouth hanging open furiously. Albus raised his eyebrows; amused, no doubt, at his cousin's honesty and willingness to defy her best friend's demands. "I'm not going to get in the middle of your argument."

Albus, first shooting a look to Lily, nodded. "Well, since you so non-argumentatively complied with my wishes, I guess I'll tell you who I'm going with." And, as Lily watched, fuming, Albus leaned in and whispered a name into Rose's welcoming ear. At the news, she smiled, seemingly satisfied.

"Sixth year, yeah?" Albus nodded. "She's nice. A friend of mine had Potions with her and introduced us. I don't think Slughorn's too fond of her, but I think you'll like her."

And with that, Lily stomped her way down the stairs of the boys' dormitories, and announced, "I'm going to bed," over her shoulder, not bothering to beckon Rose along.

"I think I better go," Rose said quietly, inching away from the door.

"Wait! Who's Lily going with to the ball?" asked Albus quickly.

She looked up at him slowly, then shrugged. "Dunno, do I? She wouldn't tell me." And before he got the chance to inquire any more, Rose flew down the stairs and made her way up to the girls' dormitories.

She stopped at the landing labeled, "Fifth Years," and knocked softly on the mahogany door. When she didn't hear anything, she turned the knob and pushed it open.

"Lily?" she called out quietly.

There was no answer, but she saw a body shift under the covers of one of the beds, so she made her way across the room. She knelt down on the edge of the four poster and prodded the girl's back gently. "Lily?" she repeated. At first, there seemed to be no response, but the girl grunted and flipped over so she was facing Rose.

"_What?_" she hissed crossly.

Rose sighed softly, then grinned at her cousin. "Do you want to know who Albus is going with or not?"

Lily's eyes widened excitedly and she immediately sat up.

"Did you honestly think I wasn't going to tell you?" Rose laughed.

Lily toyed with the frill on the edge of her bedcovers, her head hung. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Well, I'm here, and you're going to love the irony of it all," Rose began deviously.

Lily's head shot up, and she stopped preoccupying herself with her sheets, and instead clutched them in a ball beneath her tightened fist. "Ooh, who is it?" She leaned in, clearly intrigued.

Rose left a pregnant pause hang in the air for a few moments for dramatic effect before answering, "_Rita Dimitria._"

Lily gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle the noise. "_No! _But you said to Albus that she was nice!"

Rose shrugged, smirking mischievously. "That's what he gets for being a right git to you."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Eek, sorry for the wait, guys. And sorry that this one's so short. It's a filler, but the next chapter, which I'm working on now, will hopefully make up for it. :] Enjoy, and remember to review!**

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On the eve of the ball, most of the corridors of Hogwarts were filled with the male gender. Whenever someone stopped to ask who the other was accompanying, the name itself was frequently followed by, "She's upstairs getting ready," and the boys shared a chuckle that almost always didn't meet the eyes. With thirty minutes to go until seven o'clock, they all flocked into clusters grouped by house, and made their way up to their respective dormitories to begin dressing. Two boys lagged behind the crowds, speaking in restrained voices, as if they were deathly afraid of their conversation carrying up the six flights of stairs that separated themselves from the girls they were talking about.

"I don't know, Eric. Should we wait for them in the Entrance Hall, or should we just hang out in the common room until they come down? I think that's a little intrusive, don't you?" Jacob asked Eric, a tone of worry coloring his speech. He fiddled with the cuffs of his robes as he spoke, looking downright anxious about the whole ordeal.

"Who cares about being intrusive? They said yes, didn't they? Tonight's our night to be just as intrusive as we want to be," Eric replied. His air was one of confidence, one that severely contrasted his companion's, whose face couldn't decide whether it wanted to appear green, ash white, or bright red.

"Easy for you to say, you can get as many girls as you want. I screw this up and I'm done for," Jacob said gloomily.

"Then _don't screw it up!_" Eric flung his arm around his companion's shoulders, and leaned in as if he were divulging a life-changing secret. "Listen. The key to attracting women is confidence. You've got to walk with it, talk with it, snog with it. . . Everything." Jacob shot him a look of disbelief. "Listen. The meek may inherit the earth, but I bet you all the hot girls are anything but meek. So you'll be stuck with girls like Anna Jenkins." The two boys shared a glance of second-hand embarrassment at even having the unwanted girl's name uttered in their presences.

"And they like affection," Eric added as an afterthought. "So be affectionate, and they'll be all over you, mate. I promise."

Jacob stopped walking, and by this time they were one flight of stairs away from the Gryffindor common room. Eric looked back at him, but Jacob's eyes were fixed at the Fat Lady's portrait, a thoughtful look plastered on his face, a look that suggested he was thinking of everything but the portrait. "Affectionate, yeah?"

Eric grinned smugly, nodding as he backed up toward the staircase. "Affectionate."


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